and the History channel might get pissed at the copyright infringement.
Agreed, if DT selected this video or any other with copyright infringement, then DT could be liable for damages. Even though they will most likely have a waiver that protects the band, they can still be sued.
It says the winner gets $1 for his/her efforts then is owed no further money and DT can use all of part of that video from then on for whatever they want
I know that seeing your video at every DT gig for that song would be cool but that does sound a bit stingy.
The $1 contract is not stingy since this is afterall a contest and not a paid work for hire. However, US law requires that any transaction involving owernship must be a assigned a dollar value, so the $1 payment is so the band can legally own the video and do whatever they want with it. Even though the band is getting the video for free, they technically have to pay $1 for the rights.
If you wanted to, you could argue that DT is being stingy by farming this out as a contest rather than producing the video on their own penny. The winning video (and possibhly runners up) will likely be featured on an upcoming DVD release, which may make it a more attractive product. DT is acquiring bonus content without having to pay for the rights (or pay the hefty production costs of creating their own music video), and this content could be used in a DVD product which will no doubt generate revenue for the band.
But as i said, it is, afterall, a contest . . . the DT community gets a positive interaction with the band, and DT gets a music video free of charge.